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Getting people back to work on time can help reduce the cost of workers compensation insurance claims. But how is this achieved?

People are different. We are not robots. We are not cookie cutters of each other. We are all unique. And good managers understand that every employee is different. What one employee may respond to, another may not (and may cause the opposite effect). You need to “read” your employees to determine the best way to motivate and communicate with each one individually. 

The same applies when it comes to an injured employee’s return to work. If you want to get them back to work as quickly and safely as possible after a workers’ compensation claim, you need to understand a little about their personality type and determine the best way to communicate with them.

Workers Compensation Return-to-Work Strategies

Fortunately, there are many different return-to-work programs, and it’s up to you to match the right strategy and the right communication style with each employee. Most employees fall under one of these four different employee personality types:

1. Satisfied-Active
   These employees are happy and ready to return to work. This employee has probably missed few if any days of work, is committed to the company, and is considered a go-getter. This type of employee may even look at his or her injury and workers’ comp insurance claim as a weakness or setback. With this kind of employee, you’ll want to send them a get well card and work with them to create a strategy – whether that means a transitional duty position (if appropriate) or just getting them back to work. Repeated phone calls aren’t necessary and could be considered intrusive.
   
   
2. Satisfied-Passive
   These employees are generally happy with their jobs, but aren’t necessarily chomping at the bit to get back to work. This type of employee needs a little more prodding than the Satisfied-Active employee. It’s okay to call this employee a few times to keep up with their progress, and you’ll probably need to come up with a return-to-work strategy for them.
   
   
3. Dissatisfied-Passive
   These employees are unhappy. While they may not actively create schemes, they will take advantage of any opportunity to stay out of work. This type of employee definitely needs more communication to help keep them on the straight and narrow. Regular communication with them and their physicians to monitor their progress is needed.
4. Dissatisfied-Active
   These employees are unhappy with their situation and actively do their best to take advantage of the system. You will need a more aggressive approach with this type of employee including fraud prevention measures, hiring investigators, and having constant communication with them.

An Important Workers Compensation Cost Control Goal

Your goal should be to get workers who have filed a workers’ compensation insurance claim back to work as quickly and safely as possible. Using different approaches based on their personalities will help make that happen.

We Can Help with Workers Comp Insurance

For help in lowering your workers compensation insurance costs contact American Insuring Group  online, or give us a call at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848. Our independent agents will be sure to find you the right policy at a great price. Contact us today to get started!

The United States economy depends on trucks to deliver nearly $671 billion worth of manufactured and retail goods in the U.S. alone. It’s estimated that 15.5 million trucks operate in the U.S. Two million of those are tractor trailers.

Whether they are common carriers or private carriers, these vehicles need to be adequately protected with trucking insurance known as private carrier insurance. And there are several different types of insurance coverage that are required.

Here is a look at the coverage a typical private carrier would need to purchase.

What is a private carrier?

If the company owns the vehicles that are used to transport its goods, it is a private carrier. Unlike a common carrier, a private carrier does not transport goods as its primary business, and it doesn’t have to carry the goods of other companies. A private carrier is not a for-hire carrier and does not tranport the products of other companies as its primary business. 

What kind of trucking insurance does a private carrier need?

Liability Insurance: If you’re at fault for an accident, liability insurance covers injuries or damage to other people or property. It also will pay for your legal defense expenses if you are sued as a result of your involvement in an accident.

There are two parts to the coverage:

• Bodily Injury Coverage protects you if you cause an accident that injures or kills another person. It pays for any related expenses such as hospital and medical bills, long-term nursing care, lost earnings, and rehabilitation. It will pay funeral expenses in a fatal accident.
  
  
• Property Damage protects you if you are at fault for an accident that damages another person's property. It will cover the costs to replace or repair the damaged items that could include vehicles, fences, and houses. 

Physical Damage Coverage: Physical Damage refers to two basic coverages that protect your truck. This insurance requires you to choose a deductible, which is the out-of-pocket amount that you agree to pay whenever you have a claim. These are the coverages:

• Collision Insurance: Collision insurance provides protection for your vehicle if it is damaged in an accident. Collision insurance pays to repair or replace your vehicle if it collides with something or overturns.
• Comprehensive Coverage: If your truck is damaged by something other than a collision with another vehicle or object, or if your truck is stolen, comprehensive insurance will cover it.

Medical Payments Insurance: This insurance is not available in all states. If you can get medical payments insurance, it will pay medical bills for you and any passengers in your truck in case they are hurt in an accident or auto-related injury.

Private truck insurance filings

If you are traveling across state lines, you may need federal or state insurance filings. Known as Financial Proof of Responsibilities, they are a guarantee to the government that you are carrying sufficient truck insurance protection.

You'll Get the Best Trucking Insurance Rates from American Insuring Group 

If you have questions about these filings or are looking for a great deal on any type of trucking insurance, contact American Insuring Group online or call us at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848 and sit down with one of our experts on Private Carrier Insurance. We can help you sort through it and get you back on the road quickly.

Best of all, you can rest assured that we will help you get the right insurance protection at the right price. Unlike our single-brand competitors, as independent agents we're free to shop among many competing insurance carriers to help you get the best deal on insurance. Contact us today to get started!

There’s a good chance you’ve heard that long-term care insurance should be a part of everyone’s financial planning.

A long-term care insurance policy helps pay for the care you need when you become unable to care for yourself. It can protect your family's financial future and your investments and savings, and is therefore an important element in a well designed health insurance strategy.

What long-term care insurance covers

Long-term insurance benefits pay for services that include personal care such as bathing, dressing, eating, using the bathroom, moving around, or getting in or out of a bed or a chair. The help could be administered at your home or a variety of other facilities.

Long-term insurance rates vary depending on individual factors:
• How old you are when you apply for it
• The maximum amount that the policy will cover per day
• The highest number of days, months, or years that the policy will provide benefits
• The lifetime maximum amount
• Any options that you choose (increasing benefits with inflation, for instance)

Since most long-term policies require medical underwriting, you may not even qualify for the protection if you are in bad health. Sometimes, however, you can get group coverage that requires no underwriting, or you might be able to purchase an individual policy with limited coverage or at higher rates.

Good news from the IRS on long-term care insurance

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that it is increasing the amount taxpayers can deduct from their 2016 income for long-term care insurance premiums.

Premiums for qualified long-term care insurance policies are tax deductible to the extent that they, along with other unreimbursed medical expenses, exceed 10 percent of the insured's adjusted gross income, or 7.5 percent for taxpayers 65 and older (through 2016).

The premiums, which are the amount a policyholder pays the insurance company, are deductible for the taxpayer, spouse, and other dependents. Self-employed individuals take note: Your rules are different. You can take the amount of the premium as a deduction just as long as you made a net profit. And your medical expenses do not have to exceed a certain percentage of your income.

One caveat, depending on the taxpayer’s age, there is a limit on how much of the premium may be deducted. The IRS does not consider any premium amounts for the year that are above these limits to be a medical expense.

Here are the deductibility limits for 2016:

Age before the end of the year
40 or less: $390
41 to 50: $730
51 to 60: $1,460
61 to 70: $3,900
71 and up: $4,870

How to receive the long-term care insurance tax deduction:

You must itemize your deductions on your federal return to receive the long-term care insurance tax deduction. Your long term care insurance premiums are added in to your other unreimbursed medical expenses. To get a tax deduction, you must have unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed 10% (7.5% for 65 and older) of your adjusted gross income. If so, you may deduct up to the age-based limits shown above.

We can help you select the right long-term care insurance

It’s never a bad time to review your financial plan, and with the IRS giving you an added incentive, you should take the time to consider long-term care insurance as part of your plan for 2017.

Contact American Insuring Group online, or call us at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848, and get all the details on this essential coverage.

When you have a milestone in your life, do you ever consider the financial consequences of it? You should because these changes have an impact on every part of your life, from the emotional to the financial.

Any major life event should trigger a review of your life insurance to make sure it aligns with your new situation.

If you’re experiencing one of these notable events, consider reviewing your policy now, and if you’re not sure why you need to do a review or aren’t even sure what constitutes a significant milestone, here are five for you to think about:

#1. Birth, death, divorce, and marriage

• Birth:
  It doesn’t matter if it’s your first or fifth child, your life insurance must protect each one’s financial future. If you die, how will your spouse provide for the children? You should have enough coverage to get them through high school and college.
• Death:
  If your spouse dies, you are left with the financial responsibilities of the entire family. More life insurance for you is probably in order.
• Divorce:
  A divorce could have a substantial effect on your life insurance. If your ex-spouse dies, will there be enough to support the kids? Life insurance must be one of the things to settle in the process.
• Marriage:
  After the wedding, it should be a priority to make sure that each of you is protected from financial adversity if one of you dies.

#2. Buying a home

When you purchase your first house, it’s probably the biggest financial commitment you’ve made so far. If either you or your spouse dies, the surviving partner will need to replace the other’s income to be able to pay the mortgage and maintain the same lifestyle.

And if you decide to buy a more expensive house—with a larger mortgage--in the future, you’ll need to review your life insurance once again.

#3. A change in your financial situation

Some changes to your financial condition prompt you to make adjustments to your life insurance coverage. The loss of a job might make whole life insurance prohibitively expensive, so you switch to term life to lower your premiums. A substantial increase in pay, on the other hand, would require more insurance to replace your paycheck if you die.

If you are fortunate enough to come into a large amount of cash—selling your business or property--you may not need as much life insurance.

#4. Retirement

When you retire from your job, that group insurance policy that your employer paid for you stays behind. You will still want to protect your family if you die, so you’ll need to determine if your retirement savings are enough to provide that security. If not, you’ll need to look at replacing at least some of the lost coverage.

#5. Two years have passed since your last review

The most important trigger for a life insurance review is time. You can’t predict the future, yet insurance is meant to protect you against future risks. The best way around this is to re-evaluate your situation every two years and make adjustments to your coverage based on that. If you always wait until a major trigger prompts you, it might be too late because changes in your health may have rendered you uninsurable.

We'll Help You Get the Right Life Insurance Protection

If you’ve experienced any of these life events, contact American Insuring Group online or give us a call at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848 for a free life insurance review.

Our independent agents will provide expert advice AND find you the best price by comparing many competing insurance providers - you'll get the right policy at a great price. Contact us today.

Cold weather is here, and as the temperature dips, workers compensation insurance claims often rise. Needless to say, most of these claims are related to the slippery conditions that accompany inclement weather, but other hazards are waiting to wreak havoc on your employees and your bottom line.

Think about all that dangerous snow-removal equipment and the possibility of frost-bitten fingers and toes from over-exposure to frigid temps and low wind chill factors.

No, you can’t control the weather, but you have complete control over the cold-weather risks that your employees may face. Most accidents are preventable and slipping, tripping, and falling accidents are no exception. Here’s how to keep your employees and your bottom line safe:

Keep your workplace safe with these tips

• Monitor the weather conditions
• Keep adequate supplies of snow and ice removal tools in accessible areas
• Shovel and apply ice melt to keep walking areas clear and dry
• Pay particular attention to areas where ice tends to form
• Remove ice accumulations promptly, and use additional ice melt to prevent buildup
• Provide good lighting and clear path markings in parking lots and walkways
• Identify steps and ramps that might not be visible in snowy conditions
• Contract with a snow removal company to clear your lots after a snow or ice storm
• Place high quality, beveled edge track-off mats in entrance areas
• Change mats regularly to ensure those in place are dry

Reduce workers comp claims - instruct your workers on winter safety

Workers who will be going outdoors must be given or told to wear the proper footwear. Shoes and boots should have slip-resistant soles for the best traction, and employees need to be reminded to take shorter steps and walk more slowly on slippery surfaces.

Ladders are always dangerous but become more so in winter conditions. They should only be placed on surfaces that are free of snow and ice. And workers who are working on rooftops must take extra care and be trained in fall protection methods.

Additional training to keep your workers safe

• As mentioned, stick to footwear that is insulated, waterproof, and has a non-slip sole with a flat heel
• Ice grippers can also help your workers walk more safely on ice and snow
• Only use walkways that have been shoveled and salted--stay away from snow piles or areas where snow and ice removal is not possible
• Test any surface for slickness by sliding one shoe or boot on it before proceeding
• Walk with your head up, and don’t lean forward
• Never run on slippery surfaces
• To avoid wet and slippery conditions indoors, remove as much snow as possible as you enter
• Use your vehicle for support when you enter or exit it

Establish a fall prevention program in your company

Here's an effective way to reduce workers comp insurance claims: set standards for your parking lot and all sidewalks when snow or ice arrives, and train the employees who will have the responsibility for clearing them. Then, define everyone else’s role in preventing falls. Whatever standards are set, monitor them to ensure that they are being met. Acknowledge the program’s successes and make changes to it when necessary.

The best fall prevention method is for employers to keep their workers indoors on cold days or when ice and snow are a problem. When that isn’t possible, appropriate training on fall prevention and the proper use of snow removal equipment, such as snow blowers and plows, are the next best things.

We're Ready to Help with Workers Compensation Insurance

Getting the right workers compensation insurance is also a key to lowering your costs while protecting your business. Let our professionals help you do both. We shop among competing insurance providers to make sure you get the right policy for your business at the right price.

To learn more, contact American Insuring Group online or call us at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848.

Higher accident rates go hand-in-hand with higher car insurance premiums. It goes without saying that winter driving conditions are the most challenging for drivers. Statistics show that nearly twenty-five percent of all weather-related crashes involve icy roads, snow, or slush. That’s because drivers can’t see as well, and slowing down and stopping on time can be compromised by road conditions.

Ideally, everyone would stay off the roads during these dangerous conditions, but that isn’t always possible. So, if you must travel during winter weather, follow these winter driving safety tips. Preparing your vehicle—and yourself—before and during the trip will remove some of the stress of driving under adverse conditions. It will also put the odds of returning safely in your favor!

Before you go

Before you venture on to those snow-covered roads, put together a vehicle survival kit, which includes an ice scraper, a snow shovel, and some salt. You will then be prepared for the storm that blows in when you’re away from home. Also, check your tires. Properly inflated tires with good tread are a must on slick roads. If you usually use snow tires, have them on your vehicle before the first snow arrives.

Fill up your gas tank at the start of your trip, and don’t let it fall below half. If you are stuck or stranded, you’ll want to have plenty of gas to run your engine and keep warm. Also, check your wiper blades and replace them if they’re streaking your windshield. It’s hard driving in slippery conditions; it’s even harder if you don’t have a clear look at the road. And don’t forget to fill your windshield fluid reservoir—it will help you clear snow and ice from your windshield.

Charge your phone before you leave. It’s a good idea to sign up for weather alerts texted to your phone, but it’s not a good idea to check them while you’re driving.

Driving tips while on the road

If your vehicle has been setting outside, clean it off before you leave. And that means clean everything: windows, mirrors, all lights, roof, hood, and trunk. Always drive with your headlights on and keep them clean to improve visibility. Be extra careful in areas where snow banks limit your view of oncoming traffic.

When you’re on the road, keep in mind that speed limits don’t apply to roads that are covered with snow and ice. Slow down and increase your following distance. Maintain as much control of your car as possible by avoiding cruise control in slippery conditions. Bridges and overpasses are the first surfaces to become icy, so use caution when you’re crossing them. Accelerate gently and brake with extra caution. Don’t pass snow plows and salt trucks. The road is much safer behind them than in front of them. Remember, safer driving means less chance of incurring an auto insurance claim, injury or worse.

If you get stuck

If you get stuck, stay with your car. You could get lost in a heavy snow if you set out on foot. Bundle up and sit tight. You can run the car heater for 10 minutes every hour. Just make sure your exhaust pipe is clear of snow. You don’t want deadly carbon monoxide seeping into your vehicle because snow has blocked the pipe. Be extra safe by cracking your window to prevent any buildup.

Winter driving is always challenging. If you must be on the road, remember these tips

• Drive slowly
• Give yourself more time to stop
• Pay attention to the road
• Always wear your seat belt

If it’s possible, err on the side of caution. If you aren’t sure it’s safe to drive, wait until you are sure.

The Right Car Insurance Can Pay Off - Contact Us!

Sadly, sometimes accidents are unavoidable. They just happen. If you are involved in an accident this winter, you’ll be glad you had the right insurance.

If you'd like an insurance review for your car, truck, RV, motorcycle or boat, contact American Insuring Group online, or give us a call at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848 to learn more about how we can reduce your auto insurance rates.

As independent insurance agents, we're free to shop the market to find you the right protection at the best price. Contact us today.

If your company has never been struck by catastrophe, consider yourself lucky! But that doesn’t mean that your luck will hold out forever. There’s always a flood, hurricane, explosion, earthquake, lightning, or terror attack waiting around the bend.

And you and your entire company must be ready for it. With wildfires destroying over ten-million acres last year and winter storms causing $3.5 billion in insured losses earlier this year, businesses cannot afford to assume that they will be exempt from a catastrophe that strikes without warning. Getting the right business insurance is an important first step, but there are many practical things you can do to be prepared and to lower the cost and impact of a disaster.

Consider the following as you prepare your organization for a disaster:

1. Prepare safety equipment, including:

• Fire extinguishers
• Fire-fighting equipment
• Personal protective equipment that includes steel-toe and slip-resistant footwear, hardhats, eye protection, high visibility clothing, gloves, hearing protection, dust masks or respiratory protection
• First-aid kits
• Wireless communication equipment

2. Engineering controls

Escape paths, lockout tag-out controls, shut-off valves, guardrails, and exhaust ventilation that will minimize exposure to airborne hazards must be planned and inspected. Battery-powered emergency lighting, strategically placed, must be set up to go on immediately after you lose power.

3. Maintain emergency equipment

• Check and test the emergency generator
• Check fuel levels regularly on generators and fire pumps
• Check all roof-mounted equipment to ensure that it’s securely connected
• Check roof drains to make sure they are clear and able to handle heavy rains
• Check the roof and make any repairs, no matter how minor

4. Provide training

Establish an emergency response team with participants from all parts of your organization. Then, conduct disaster management drills to ensure all members of the emergency response team and all other employees know their responsibilities. Conduct daily safety briefings that discuss hazards and controls. Identify and eliminate or control existing or potential dangers that you discover after any disaster. Job performance appraisals should be tied in with compliance on all employee training.

5. Secure your data

• Copy your valuable papers and records, and put them in a safe place.
• Make sure that back-ups of computer records are current and kept in a safe location off-site.
• Confirm that any of your third-party vendors or cloud providers are also prepared for any natural or man-made disasters.

6. Work with your local government before a catastrophe hits

File a copy of your emergency response plan with local law enforcement officials, and provide them with new versions as you update them. Make sure that the local government’s emergency response team has contact information for your company. Give them updates whenever anyone on your team leaves the company or changes roles.

7. Patrol your facility during the emergency

As long as it’s safe to be there, your emergency response team should be patrolling the facility. The team should be concentrating on the following:

• Make sure all equipment is functioning properly.
• Repair any structural damage, if possible 
• Correct any potential fire hazards 
• Monitor the water pressure for your sprinkler heads.
• Deploy sandbags if flooding seems imminent.

8. Emphasize workplace safety after the disaster

Once your business has resumed normal operations, it’s important to reinforce standard safety measures:

• Ensure that your employees are using proper lifting techniques, and provide material handling equipment to keep manual lifting to a minimum.
• Limit the amount of employee exposure to hazardous conditions. 
• Minimize exposure to dangerous situations by rotating employees.
• Make personal hygiene and sanitation your company’s priority, and give workers an area where they can clean up after each shift.

Get the Right Insurance Protection for Your Business - Contact Us to Learn More

To learn more about preparing and protecting your business with the right types and amounts of commercial insurance, contact American Insuring Group online or call us at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848.

You invested a lot of money to start your own for-hire trucking business. Now it’s beginning to pay off as your schedule fills and you are spending more time on the road.

Being busy is what you hoped for, but it’s vital that you remember that you are now responsible for the business end of this venture, and protecting it has to be your top priority.

Motor carrier insurance is a type of truck insurance designed specifically for your kind of operation, and choosing the right insurance coverage will protect your investment and your business.

Here are some tips for getting the maximum coverage for your stuation:

For motor carriers who use for-hire independent truckers

If you are permanently leased to a motor carrier, there’s a good chance they will provide Primary Liability insurance coverage for you. The terms will be contained in your lease agreement, and, if the carrier provides the insurance, it will cover injuries and damage to other people and property if you are at fault during an accident.

If your carrier covers the primary liability, you will still need to purchase other for-hire trucking insurance. These are important:

Non-trucking liability: If you are not hauling cargo—you’re getting your truck washed or taking it for repairs—this coverage provides you with limited liability insurance protection.

Physical damage coverage: This insurance covers your truck and trailer against collision, fire, theft, hail, windstorm, earthquake, flood, or vandalism. The lien holder of your vehicle will require this coverage.

Motor truck cargo insurance: If you are responsible for lost freight or damaged goods, you are protected with this policy. The premium will vary depending on the load you’re hauling.

If you work on your own authority:

If you work independently—officially called operating under your own authority—you’ll need to purchase your mandatory primary liability insurance coverage which, as noted earlier, pays for damages you cause to other people and their property.

Other essential coverages:

Physical damage: This insurance pays for repairs to your truck if it's damaged in an accident, whether it's caused by a collision with another vehicle or a falling tree branch.

Motor truck cargo insurance: Pays for damages to the load that you’re hauling in the case of fire, theft, or an accident.

Uninsured motorist coverage: Pays for injuries and damages to you, your passengers, and your vehicle, which was caused by drivers who either don't have insurance or don't have enough insurance to cover your injuries and damages.

Medical payments insurance: Mandatory in some states and unavailable in others, this coverage would pay medical bills for you and any passengers in your truck in case they are hurt in an accident or auto-related injury.

Trailer interchange insurance: If a load needs to be transferred to a different trucker, the motor carrier that has possession of the trailer is responsible for any damage to it, whether or not the trailer is attached to the tractor. Trailer interchange insurance covers physical damage caused to a non-owned trailer under a trucker’s care.

 

Get Help - Get the Right Trucking Insurance

Signing on with a reputable motor carrier can mitigate some of those insurance expenses, but whether you drive under permanent lease or your own authority, you will need to sit down with an expert on for-hire trucking insurance to help you get the best coverage at a competitive price.

We can help, so contact the experts at American Insuring Group online or call us at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848.

As an employer, you want to make sure that you have adequate workers’ compensation insurance; however, you also want to make sure that you aren’t paying too much for it.

If you aren’t properly managing your workers compensation program, there’s a good chance that you are indeed paying too much.

If you want to change that, here are 5 workers’ compensation cost control systems to implement.

1. A Return to Work Program

While an injured employee may not be capable of returning to his regular job and performing all of his regular duties, he may be able to come back to work on “modified duty,” “transitional duty,” or “light duty.” For example, a worker with an injured back may not be able to return to a job that requires frequent lifting, but he may be able to perform modified duties such as answering phones or counting inventory. Modified duty reuces disability costs, which in turn lowers your cost of the workers’ compensation claim. Plus, several studies have shown that injured employees who come back to work for modified duty recover more quickly.

2. A Safety Program

Frequency and severity of claims are two of the biggest causes of higher workers’ compensation insurance premiums. A good safety program can decrease both the frequency and the severity of injuries. A good safety program identifies all of the potential job hazards and teaches employees how to work more safely and avoid injuries. An effective safety program requires a concerted effort to eliminate or reduce all job hazards that are identified and should include a safety specialist or committee that keeps on top of those (and new) hazards.

3. Medical Management Cost Control

In 2017, health care costs are expected to grow 6.5%. This means that controlling the cost of medical care provided to an injured employee is necessary to help control the cost of workers’ compensation premiums. Employers can do this by 1) having a worksite nurse who is available to evaluate and ensure that injured employees receive the proper level of medical care, 2) involving a nurse case manager in the claim, so she can coordinate and facilitate the medical care and assist the employer and employee in compliance and return to work options, and 3) having cost control services in place for medical fee schedule reviews, utilization reviews, and peer reviews.

4. Fraud Prevention Program

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, up to 25 percent of all workers’ compensation claims contain some element of fraud, and this fraud can add 10 to 20 percent to your overall cost of workers’ compensation. If you turn a blind eye to fraud, you’re encouraging other employees to commit fraud. You should have a fraud prevention program in place and make sure that every employee understands that fraud is a serious crime and that the cost of fraud could directly affect them in lower raises or bonuses.

5. Control Medical Provider Selection

You may be surprised by how much this can affect the cost of medical care, but research has shown a strong correlation between the states with the highest cost of workers’ compensation and the states that allow injured employees to select their medical provider. First, you should understand how much you can and can’t control this selection. In Pennsylvania, employers can (and should) provide a list of acceptable medical providers that employees can use in a workers’ compensation claim. Employees are required to use one of those medical providers for 90 days. If you don’t provide a list, the injured employee can select his own medical provider during those first 90 days and many employees will find a doctor who will keep them off work longer. 

 

Call Us to Lower Your Workers Comp Insurance Costs!

Subscribe to our blog to learn additional ways to control your workers’ compensation and other business and personal insurance costs. And be sure to Contact American Insuring Group online or call us at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848. Our independent agents will compare policies from competing carriers to find the right coverage at the right price for your business.

If you own a house, you have homeowners insurance. It’s required by the financial institution that holds your mortgage, and even if you don’t have a mortgage, you still need the coverage to protect your investment. With the median sales price of existing homes at a current level of $234,900, that’s a rather significant investment.

Even though almost every homeowner understands the necessity for homeowners insurance, few are aware of what is typically covered in a standard policy.

There are six areas of protection that make up your homeowners insurance. Make sure your policy has the right balance.

1.     Dwelling Coverage

If your house is damaged or destroyed in a covered peril—fire, wind, hail, or lightning—your insurance policy will provide the funds to repair or rebuild it. Keep in mind, however, that floods and earthquakes are not included in this coverage and will require separate polices to protect your property from them.

2.     Other Structures

This part of the policy covers what the name implies—any detached buildings on your property. Sheds, workshop, detached garage, and even fences are covered for damage or destruction from any covered peril. Your policy will usually provide 10% of the dwelling coverage as the limit for other structure protection. So, if you have set the cost of rebuilding your home at $200,000, then your other structure coverage will be $20,000.

3.     Personal Property

Personal property coverage, sometimes referred to as contents coverage, pays for replacing your possessions that were destroyed in a covered peril. In most policies, the coverage limit is set at 50% to 70% of the dwelling coverage limit. While $100,000 to $140,000 for a $200,000 house might sound like more than enough, you should perform a home inventory to be certain.

4.     Loss of Use

If your home is damaged or destroyed, you might have to look for a temporary place to live while repairs are being made. Loss of use coverage will help you maintain your standard of living by providing for hotels, restaurants, and other living expenses when your house is uninhabitable. Loss of use protection is set at 20% of your dwelling coverage limit.

5.     Personal Liability

This part of your home insurance policy protects you from lawsuits. Suppose a visiting neighbor falls because of a rotten floorboard on your front porch. Or your usually mild-mannered dog bites the utility meter reader and puts him out of work for a few weeks. You could be subjected to a lawsuit, in which case your coverage would protect you up to the policy limit, generally at least $100,000.

6.     Medical Payments

Medical payments insurance, commonly called MedPay, covers the medical costs of someone who is injured on your property and chooses not to sue. In the previous example, your neighbor and the meter reader were injured but this time did not file a lawsuit. Their medical costs were paid because of the MedPay section of your policy.

Keep in mind that medical payments coverage is the only part of your policy whose limits are not determined by your dwelling coverage. It typically pays $1000 per injured person, but you have the option to request a higher limit.

Go Beyond House Insurance Basics: Contact Us for the Right Coverage!

What you have read here is Home Insurance 101. To ensure that you are adequately covered, talk to one of our experts at American Insuring Group. We will help you acquire a homeowner's policy that has the appropriate coverage for your situation at a great price. Contact us online or call us at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848.